LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Myron Gardner notched the first triple-double in Division I program history, finishing with 13 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, but a number of extended App State runs kept the Trojans in a hole most of the game as the Mountaineers took a 78-66 victory at the Jack Stephens Center.
Gardner set career highs in both rebounds (16) and assists (10), notching his first career triple-double and the first for the Trojans at the Division I level. 14 of his 16 rebounds as it is the most by a Trojan since Ruot Monyyong’s 19-rebound game at UT Arlington on Jan. 23, 2021. The 10 assists is the most for a Trojan since Markquis Nowell’s 10 against Champion Christian on Dec. 18, 2020.
Gardner was one of four Trojans to finish in double figures, led by 20 points from CJ White on 7-of-13 shooting with four rebounds. Isaiah Palermo added 12 points for his 14th game in double figures this season while Jovan Stulic finished with 10 points and three rebounds.
Only two other players scored for Little Rock as Nikola Maric added six points with four rebounds in his first game since Jan. 29, leaving him 10 points shy of 1,000 for his career. Jordan Jefferson added five points in the first half as well.
For the game, Little Rock shot 41.3% from the floor, contrasted by 52.5% for App State, which hit 10-of-23 from three point range (43.5%), compared to just 6-of-20 (30.0%) for Little Rock. The Trojans did hold the advantage from the free throw line, making 8-of-9 (88.9%) while the Mountaineers knocked down just 4-of-9 (44.4%).
Little rock held a 35-34 rebounding edge, but committed 13 turnovers to App State’s 11. The Trojans did generate seven steals defensively, led by three from Palermo, but the Mountaineers outscored the Trojans 44-34 in the paint.
Basketball is a game of runs, and the first 10 minutes of the first half were a prime example as that. App State started the streaks with a 9-0 spurt spanning less than two minutes, turning a 4-3 Little Rock lead into a 12-4 Mountaineer advantage.
Little Rock responded with an 8-0 run of its own, thanks to four points from Palermo and two each from Gardner and White, evening the game at 12-12 with 12:15 left in the first half. But the Mountaineers answered back with an 11-0 spurt of their own, building a 23-12 lead at the midway point of the half.
The Trojans then used an 8-0 run of its own behind five-straight from Jefferson and a three from White, getting to within three at 23-20 with 8:41 left in the first half, only to have App use a 7-0 spurt to build its lead back to 10 at 30-20 with 7:02 remaining.
Michael Almonacy would score four-straight down the stretch for App State as he finished with 21 in the opening 20 minutes, with a three from Stulic in the final minute trimming the halftime deficit to eight at 40-32. Little Rock shot 40.6% in the first half, going 4-for-12 from three, with App State hitting 50% of its shots, making 8-of-15 from three point range.
Each team had modest runs to start the second half as well, beginning with a 6-0 run from App State to push its lead to 13 at 47-34, followed by five-straight from Gardner as part of an 8-2 spurt to close the deficit to seven at 49-42 with 14:20 remaining.
But App State continued to find its scoring touch, making 6-of-7 from the floor to extend its lead to 16 at 60-44 with just over 11 minutes to play. Little Rock mounted one final run down the stretch of the second half, including baskets from Palermo, Maric and Stulic, to cut the lead to 10 on three different occasions, but a layup and back-to-back dunks in the final two minutes kept the Trojan rally at bay.
App State was led by 26 points from Almonacy with Adrian Delph adding 18 poits and eight rebounds.
Little Rock closes out the regular season Friday evening, hosting Coastal Carolina in the final regular season and home game as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. Opening tip against the Chanticleers is set for 6:30 p.m.
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